Planetary drive for wire spooling devices



Dec. 10, 1946. c. o. BRUESTLE IZLANETARY DRIVE FOR- WIRE SfOOLIRG DEV ICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 15, 1944 INVENTOR CARL o. BRUESTLE BYQMJQJ-OSW I ATTORNEY Dec. 10, 1946.

C. O. BRUESTLE PLANETARY DRIVE FOR WIRE SPOOLING DEVICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 15, 1944 INVENTOR CARL O. BRUESTLE QA OQMJ ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 10, 1946 iTED STATE OFFICE Carl 0. Bruestle, Rahway,

Syncro Machine Company,

N. .L, asaignor to Perth Amboy, N. 3.,

- a corporation of New Jersey Claims.

The present invention relates to a planetary type of drive for a wire spooling device and particularly to such a drive soarranged as to make it possible to coil the wire under a constant tension.

In the process of manufacturing both bare and insulated conductors it is customary to reel the wire on a large reel at the conclusion of the final drawing or insulating operation, as the case may be. However, the normally used shipping reel is considerably smaller and it, therefore, becomes necessary to re-spool the finished product prior to shipping. X I

Frequently inspection of the finished product is combined with the re-spooli'ng operation. This complicates the re-spooling' problem since it re quires relatively frequent starting and stopping which brings into being problems of inertia due to the large weights involved and the relative weakness of many types of wire.

With the present invention it is possible to re-spool at high speeds from large and heavy reels Application December 15, 1944, Serial No. 568,373

is considered in connection withthe appended drawings in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a spooling device showing the application ofthe planetary drive of this invention thereto, the drive unit itself being in section;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section taken on the plane of the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

even when relatively weak wire is the product undergoing re-spooling.

Furthermore,'starting and stopping can be accomplished without imparting undue strain to the wire and the tension on the wire can be selected and held constant throughout the spooling process.

The invention is, furthermore, useful in connection with tinning of wire in which the wire is unreeled from a spool, passed through a tinning bath and reeled on another spool. The passage through the heated tin in the bath tends to weaken the wire and, consequently, this invention is of particular use in connection with such a process.

-It is an object of the invention to provide a drive for a wire spooling device which will render it possible to re-spool at high speeds from large and heavy spools having considerable inertia.

It is another object of the invention to provide a drive for a Wire spooling device arranged so that starting and stopping can be accomplished. without putting strain upon the wire strand.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a drive for a wire spooling device so arranged that a desired tension can be procured and maintained throughout; the spooling process.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a drive for a spooling device which comprises a, planetary gear unit.

Further objects and features of the invention will be apparent when the following description Figure 3 is a vertical cross-section taken on the line 33 of Figure l and showing particularly the mode for applying a constant basic tension to the pay-off reel and through it to the wire being re-spooled.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figure from which the wire is payed off and fed to the smaller take-up spool or reel II. The .reel I0 is fixed to shaft I! for rotation therewith, the shaft being supported in the bearings l3 and I4. Also affixed to the shaft l2 for rotation is a drum IS with which the brake bands l6 cooperate. These bands are pivoted at points I! to a fixed support l8 and the amount of braking effected may be adjusted by means of'the screw l9 and wing nut 20. The screw l9 passes through the ears 2| on the brake bands l6 and this serves to make'the adjustment mentioned possible, the operation being obvious.

Likewise fixed to the shaft 12 is a gear 22 which meshes with a similar gear 23 fixed to shaft 24 which shaft is supported in the bearings 25 and 26. Fastened on shaft 24 for rotation therewith is a sprocket wheel 21 which is driven by any suitable means as, for example, the chain 28 from sprocket wheel 30 mounted on sleeve or. hub 3| hereinafter described.

The take-up reel II is mounted on a shaft 32 which shaft is supported in the bearings 33 and carries a spider 34 at the end opposite the takeup reel H. The spider 34 has a drum-like outer surface, as indicated at 35, as will be hereafter described and is in addition provided with four stub shafts 36 each one of which carries a planet gear 31. Surrounding the planet gears 31 is an annular gear 38 which gear is integral withthe drum 39 which drum is in alignment with'the drum so that brake shoes 40 cooperate with both drums.

The drum 39 and integral annular or ring gear 38 are provided with a sleeve or hub 3! which is supported in the bearings 4i and to which the sprocket wheel 30 is fixed as above described;

A shaft '42 extends through the sleeve 3| and is supported by a bearing 43. This shaft carries at its lower end, as seen in Figure 1, the 'sun 1, there is shown at III a large reel therewith t-he spool II and the spider 34.

gear 44 of theplanetary drive. As is customary, this sun gear meshes with each oi the planet gears 31. On its opposite end the shaft 42 carries a pulley 45 which is driven by the belts 46. This showing is, ofcourse, merely conventional and any other form of drive from the power source may be employed.

The two aligned drum surfaces 35.and 39 are adapted to cooperate 'with the brake shoes 40 which shoes are lined'as is customary with the brake lining 41 and are pivotally mounted at 48 to the levers 49. Levers 49 are in turn pivoted to a fixed portion or the mechanism at points 50 and the two levers 49 are connected for simultaneous movement by the link The lower arm of the lefthand lever'49 is connected by means of the piston rod 52 to the brake actuator 53.

By reference to the drawings, it will be seen that any movement of the sun gear 44 will cause rotation of the cooperating planet gears 31 and that the parts mentioned together with the .spider 34 and the ring gear 33 comprise a planetary transmission or difierential. As is usualin such cases,'if the spider 34 should be held stationary, the ring gear 38 would rotate in one direction at a speed depending upon the gear reduction effected through thesun, planet and ring gears. However, if the ring gearshould be held, the spider 34 would then rotate in the opposite direction. Thus any tendency to hold one of the members 34 or 38 causes an increase in speed of theother member. J a

Since the present arrangement provides the reversing gears 22 and 23, it will be clear that the take-'up reel which is driven by the spider 34 and the pay-oil reel which is driven by the sleeve 3| tend to rotate in the same direction. The tension in the wire may be adjusted by means of r the brake bands l6, as previously described, and

is, of course, adjusted in accordance with the strength of the wire which is to be re-spooled It will be clear that if, forany reason, the

tension on the wire extending between the spools l0 and l I increases, this will act as a brake upon Consequently; the annular gear 38 will increase its speed and in so doing will increase the speed of rotation of the reel l0 thereby paying off the wir more rapidly and lessening the tension so that the payoff and take-up reels will again rotate at the same linear-speed. a

Of course, if the tension lessens, the braking effect upon the reel H will diminish and, as a consequence, it will tend to operate more rapidly resulting in a, decreasein speed of the annular gear 38 and the reel Ill driven thereby thus bringing the tension back to the initial tension as determined by the adjustment of bands IS on drum l5.

Moreover, as the wire is payed ofi of the reel 10 the radius is lessened constantly and, of course, the winding radius of the wire on the reel II is constantly-increased. The drive above described maintains the tension constant both when the reels are full and when they are substantially empty and thus achieves the chief aim of the inventlon.

When it is desired to stop the .mechanism the brake actuator 53 is operated causing the brake shoes 41 to bear against the aligned surfaces of the brake drum 39 and the brake drum of the spider 34. This results in braking both the spider member 34 and the annular gear 38 simultaneously thereby bringing the pay-oil reel l0 and plying equal ,modifications are possible and, therefore, I do not desire to be limited to the description given herein solely for the purposes of illustration *but rather to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. 7

What is claimed is:

1. In a wire spooling device, in combination a pay-oil reel, 8. take-up reel to which the wire is directly fed from said pay-off reel, a common driving means for said reels and a planetary transmission interposeddoetween said common driving means and each of said reels to insure the maintenanceof a constant tension llpOn the wire being unwound from said payofi reel and wound upon said take-up reel, the pull of the wire upon said reels serving to determine the relative speeds thereof.

2. In a wire spooling device, in combination a pay-oil reel, a take-up reel, a common driving means for said reels, a planetary transmission interposed between said common driving means and each of said reels to insure the maintenance of a constant tension upon the wire being unwound from said pay-oil reel and wound upon said take-up reel, and adjustable means for applying a tension to said pay-oilreel, to thereby adjust the tension upon the wire toa desired value for the particular wire.

3. In a wire spooling device, in combination a pay-off reel, a take-up reel, a planetary transmission comprising a sun gear, a. plurality of planet gears engaged with said sun gear, and an annular gear cooperating with said planet gears, drive means for said sun gear, a spider on which said planet gears are mounted, said spider being fixed to said take-up reel for rotation therewith, means fixed'to said annular gear for'rotation therewith for driving said pay-off reel in the same direction as said take-up reel, and means associated with said pay-off reel for applying a braking effect to said reel.

4. In a wire spooling device, in combination a pay-oil reel, a take-up reel, said pay-off reel and take-up reel being in alignment, whereby wire may be uncoiled from said pay-off reel and wound upon said take-up reel, common driving means for said pay-off and take-up reels, a differential drive connecting said driving means to said reels, means for applying a constant braking effect to said pay-off reeL'and means associated with said differential mechanism for apbraking effects to both said reels simultaneously.

5. In a wire spooling device, in combination a pay-ofi reel, a take-up reel, a, planetary transmission comprising a sun gear, a'plurality of means fixed to said annular gear for rotation therewith for driving said pay-oil reel in the same direction as said take-up reel, means associated with said pay-oil reel for applying a braking effect to said reel, a brake drum integral with saidspider, a second brake drum integral a with said-annular gear, said brake drums being in alignment, and braking means common to said two brake drums and operable to apply equal braking efiects to said pay-off and take-up reels simultaneously.

6. In a wire spooling device, in combination a pay-oil reel, 2. take-up reel. a planetary transmission comprising a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears engaged with said sun gear, and an annular gear cooperating with said planet gears. drive means for said sun gear, a spider on which said planet gears are mounted, said spider being fixed to said take-up reel for rotation therewith, means fixed to said annular gear for rotation therewith, a reversing mechanism assobeing in alignment, and braking means common to said two brake drums and operable to apply equal braking effects to said pay-01f and take-up reels simultaneously.

CARL O. BRUESTLE. 

